05/15/2025
First Aid for Feelings: Because Band-Aids Can’t Fix Everything
First Aid for Feelings: Because Band-Aids Don’t Fix Everything
Caring for our emotional health matters.
This May, for Mental Health Month, we’re reminding our community that emotional struggles deserve support.
Because when life hurts, we need more than grit.
We need tools.
We need care.
We need each other.
That’s why we’re launching First Aid for Feelings—a community-wide campaign to help us all better care for our mental and emotional health. Throughout the month, we’re showing up around the valley with events, emotional first aid kits, and tools you can use when the hard stuff hits.
Everyday Tools for Emotional First Aid
Here are a few simple strategies to help you care for your feelings—any day of the week:
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🧘♀️ Breathe slowly and deeply. Try the 4-7-8 method: inhale for 4, hold for 7, exhale for 8.
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🖐️ Use your five senses. Touch something soft, sip a warm drink, or smell something calming.
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📝 Name what you’re feeling. Giving language to your emotions can help you understand and manage them.
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🚶♂️ Move your body. A short walk, a stretch, or even shaking it out can release built-up stress.
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📱 Reach out. Talk to someone you trust or text a crisis line. You don’t have to go through it alone.
These are the kinds of tools you’ll find in our Emotional First Aid Kits—plus a few surprises, like tea, sensory stickers, and stress-relief items you can carry with you.
Mental Health Awareness Month Events
🧰 May 9 – Build a Kit at the Makerspace
Craft your own Emotional First Aid Kit with support from the Makerspace and items provided by the Coalition.
Location: Makerspace in Driggs
Time: 10am–2pm
🚴 May 10 – Hops Cyclery Bike Swap + Benefit Raffle
Hops is hosting their annual bike swap and raffle to benefit MHC—featuring a Salsa Cassidy bike! We’ll be there with First Aid kits and info.
Location: Hops Cyclery
Time: Group ride at 10am; table time until 2:30pm
💬 May 13 – Community Conversation with Guy Winch
Join us for a powerful community conversation with psychologist and TED speaker Guy Winch, facilitated by our director, Sara.
Location: Seniors West of the Tetons
Time: 5pm–6:30pm
💛 May 14 – Emotional First Aid Kit Making at the Hospital BBQ
Hospital staff can build their own kits during TVHC’s staff appreciation BBQ.
Location: Teton Valley Health Care
Time: 11am–2pm
🎨 May 16 – Community Art & Mental Health Month Activity at the City Center
Be part of an interactive art piece and learn more about First Aid for Feelings.
Location: City Center
Time: 5pm–7pm
✉️ May 18 – Cards + Care at Teton Arts
Teton Arts will host a card-making activity while we offer kit-building guidance and conversation about emotional health.
Location: Teton Arts
Time: 12pm–2pm
Want to Help Keep the Care Going?
Your support makes free, community-rooted mental health resources like these possible.
Donate now and help someone feel a little more grounded, cared for, and not so alone.
💛 Follow us on social media for more tools, resources, and Mental Health Month updates—plus a few surprises from our friend Chatty the mascot.
Instagram @thementalhealthcoalition
Let’s keep the care going all year long.
Because emotional pain is real—and caring for your mental health matters.
